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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

These days we never know where a conversation with Liam will take us. It could be short, sweet and to the point or it could be long and confusing, leaving you wondering where this child came from! One thing is for sure, there are a lot of laughs to be had. And I really don't know how the kid knows the things he knows!

Here are some of my favourites from the past few days.

Liam: "Today I was a bad crocodile."

Me: "How do you be a bad crocodile?"

Liam: "I do this." <looked at me with a mean glare> "And I have a big long nose with very big, very sharp teeth. Crocodiles have big scary teeth."

Me: "Yes, they do have big teeth."

Liam: "And crocodiles have sharp toes with very sharp nails that come out of their toes for scratching, like this." <he put his hands up to demonstrate scratching> "Crocodiles have really big, very big tails that they use to hit things. And they swim in the water. Bad crocodiles eat animals that they hit with their big tails and grab with their sharp toes and sharp nails."

Me: "Are there any good crocodiles?"

Liam: "No, crocodiles are all bad. They bit and scratch and hit. They are just bad crocodiles."

Liam: "I know how to make tuna melts.

First you put the tuna on and then you put the cheese on.

And then it just melts."

Liam: "Mommy, I want to you to get in the bath with me."

Me: "No thank you, I don't want to take a bath right now."

Liam: "But it is fun to play with dinosaurs and sharks in the bath with me."

Me: "Maybe another time."

Liam: "We need to buy you a bathtub of your own so that we can have baths together. We can go get it later at Walmart. No, maybe we'll get it at Costco. Costco is better."

On the way home from work/daycare:

Liam: "Daddy, who built your truck?"

Henry: "Ford built it."

Liam: "Where does Ford work? Does he work at Walmart or Costco?"

Henry: "Ford isn't a person. Ford is a company that makes trucks."

Liam: "Where is Ford now? Is he going home?"

Henry: "Ford is not a person. This truck was made at Ford in Virginia"

Liam: "Why?"

Henry: "Because there is a big factory in Virginia where Ford makes lots and lots of trucks."

Liam:"Does Ford do it all by himself?"

Henry: "No, lots of different people helped to build this truck."

Liam: "How?"

Henry: "Someone makes the engine, someone makes the radiator, someone puts on the doors, someone puts in the seats."

Monday, March 26, 2012

March 1st, 2012 was a day that we have been thinking about since Liam was 6 days old and counting down to since his last visit to the Orthopedist, in September. March 1st, 2012 was the day that we could finally say that Liam was finished with treatment for his club foot, finished treatment that started when he was only 6 days old.

In the three years that he has been wearing his Denis Brown Boots and Bar, we have gone through three pairs of shoes, from the little tiny ones that wouldn't stay on his feet because they were too big to the biggest ones, that we soon going to be too small.

We were all thrilled to be able to put the "sleepy shoes" away forever!

The end of the sleepy shoes for Liam meant that it was time for another change. Even though he was already 3 years old, Liam was still sleeping in his crib as we didn't want him trying to walk in his boots and bar. However, the last few months, he's been asking for a big boy bed and it would break my heart every time.

Last night sleeping in his crib!

Last night sleeping in his crib!

The first Friday after we were done with the sleepy shoes, we set to converting the crib to a toddler bed.

Liam was excited, not only to be getting his big boy bed, but also to help Daddy!

What is this piece for?

I wasn't sure how the transition to a bed would go. I have heard lots of horror stories of kids who wouldn't stay in their beds, wouldn't sleep in their beds, parents who would sit outside the bedroom door for hours to keep the child in the bedroom, I could go on and on.

But, really, Liam has been amazing! He stays in bed, even when he is upset and doesn't want to go to sleep, he doesn't get out of bed. He stays in bed in the morning until I go in to get him up. Even after his afternoon naps, he doesn't get out of bed until someone comes in to get him! Not sure what we did to get this lucky!!'

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I came to the realization a few months ago that at big part of the reason that I have come to dread cooking and hardly ever bake is that I hate my kitchen. I know that as long as we live in this house, I will never have a kitchen that I am totally in love with, it just isn't feasible, however, I need to have a kitchen that I can stand to be in for more than 30 seconds at a time without wanting to run away from home!

When we bought this house in late 2002 and started painting and making it ours, I was dead set on a blue and yellow kitchen. And although I did, at the time, like the finished product, it was never quite what I had in mind when I planned for blue and yellow. This time, I didn't know what I wanted. We had dozens of paint chips stuck to the walls and cupboard doors for weeks, trying to decide. And we changed our minds almost every week.

My blue and yellow kitchen, getting ready for a makeover.

My blue and yellow kitchen, getting ready for a makeover.

Finally, we decided on green and tan. We choose a light, sage green for the walls, and what Henry calls a coffee with too much milk colour for the cabinets.

Tennessee Haze and Onion Skin were the colours we settled on (third from the top on both cards).

Over the course of a week, we spent our time on the weekend and after work, painting. Everything needed two coats of paint to cover up the old colours. The cabinet doors had to be taken down to paint. It was a big job but it was so worth it!

Newly painted kitchen! So much brighter and enjoyable to spend time in!

Yesterday, Henry took down the old, very dirty ceiling fan and put up a nice new track light. He also installed LED strip lights over the counter, sink and stove! The lighting is so much better now!!

New track light! Prettier and better lighting than the old ceiling fan!

We are still a long way from done, the kitchen still needs a new counter top, sink and floor. Unfortunately, these renos have been put on hold for a little while as we have some outdoor projects that need to be completed this spring. But as soon as the outdoor projects are done taking up our time and money, we will be back to finishing the kitchen!

Until then, we have done enough to make me enjoy my time in the kitchen again!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

We have finally had potty training success with Liam! Since my last Potty Training Tuesday post in . . . August, has it really been that long? We have had literally no success with potty training.

A couple of times Liam announced that he was a big boy and didn't need to wear diapers anymore, but he also refused to use the potty.

Over the Christmas holidays, I tried some serious potty training, wear underwear and sitting on the potty every fifteen minutes. Still nothing.

Although I desperately wanted Liam to be potty trained, I wasn't going to push the issue. At his three year old check up in January, the pediatrician told Daddy that Liam really should be potty trained. His advice . . . put him on the potty every 30 minutes if he wants to or not and give him a sticker when he pees. (I am not even going to get into all the things that are wrong with that advice! At least not right now!!)

Daddy thought that this sounds like a good plan, so we gave it a try, for about two days. Liam was miserable every time we made him sit on the potty and we had absolutely no success.

At the beginning of February, the daycare decided that it was time for some hardcore potty training for a number of the children in Liam's group.

I crossed my fingers, prayed to the potty training gods, sent lots of extra clothes and hoped for the best, but expected the worst!

In the beginning, there were LOTS of accidents and no success.

The there were fewer accidents but still little to no success. Liam's teachers seemed to think that he was "holding it" as he would pee as soon as they put a diaper on him at nap time. And although it's not as good as actually using the toilet, it is a good step as it is a sign that the child is gaining some control.

Then, finally, one day there was a pee on the toilet! And soon after that, success was a regular thing. But only at daycare. At home it was a struggle to get him to sit for even a few seconds. But I was not discouraged! Progress is still progress even when it is slow!

It took his daycare teacher telling him that if he used the potty at home for me that she would give him a big sticker the next morning, to get him to start at home.

And now, about 6 weeks after they started, I am thrilled to say that except for naps and night time, Liam is about 95% toilet trained. He wears big boy underwear, has very few accidents and can mostly use the potty by himself. He still wears a diaper when we are out, just in case we can find or get to a bathroom fast enough but even then, he usually asks to go use the toilet!

So, when you are getting discouraged that your child isn't potty training fast enough, just think of me, the daycare teacher who has potty trained countless kids in her 14 years of working as an ECE who couldn't potty train her own child!

It will happen when the time is right!

Stay tuned for more tips, tricks and advice every Tuesday! And please do share your own experiences! I am always looking for ways to make potty training easier for myself, not only at work, but also at home as I will soon be jumping in head first to potty train Liam!